


One Hundred Moments between Mistakes and Life

by BrokenChosenofEva



Series: Moments in Time [1]
Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-18
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 00:39:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 6,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6589660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrokenChosenofEva/pseuds/BrokenChosenofEva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fifty words, fifty memories. Fifty moments between Hikari and Kensuke.<br/>Fifty thoughts, fifty scenes. Fifty times Hikari and Kensuke remember.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mistaken Sacrifices

**Author's Note:**

> ...Honestly uncertain if the "Canon Divergence" tag applies for this one... It's rather heavy on the AU, though most of THAT is events which occur after the end of the series.

001\. Mistakes  
Kensuke groaned in frustration, untangling yet another attempt at a bow-tie, as he tried yet again to put the final touch on his tux for the formal ball Asuka and Shinji had invited him to, hoping he could get it right before he ran out of time and had to leave to pick up his date, praying Hikari didn't instantly start giggling at what he knew would be a messy knot around his neck.

002\. Heartfelt  
Hikari smiled, the expression soft and endearing as she reached out and gently pulled loose Kensuke's heartfelt attempt at a bow-tie and reworked it into a neat and proper shape, leaning forward and giving him a peck on the cheek before taking his arm.

003\. Fading Away  
While they knew it would never truly fade, being able to reminisce about Touji without the sharp stab of pain at his loss was welcome, and they always poured an extra glass of sake for him on New Years.

004\. Spirit  
While gentler and more reserved than Asuka, Hikari had just as demanding and fiery a spirit as her redheaded friend, and Kensuke admitted he was as drawn to it as a moth to flame, only hoping Touji would approve and at the same time knowing he would want his best friends to be happy with him gone.

005\. Choose  
Looking back over her life Hikari knew the catalyst for all the things she was grateful for was the day she chose to befriend Touji and Kensuke, and even if she'd known all the times she'd suffer she would gladly suffer them again for the good things the three of them experienced.

006\. Immortal  
Kensuke gazed at his sleeping wife, taking in every flaw and perfection, glad for the gift Shinji had given his friends when he collapsed Third Impact, and through the centuries, even though Asuka and Touji had long since wandered to parts unknown, he always reveled in the fact Hikari had stayed by his side.

007\. Open Your Eyes  
Kensuke jerked awake, momentarily confused as to why before he heard the whimpering coming from the baby monitor on his bedside table, and after a quick glance to see Hikari was still sound asleep he got up and made his way into their son's room and scooped the softly crying baby out of the crib, and was soon greeted by watery brown eyes.

008\. Electrify  
"Kensuke," Hikari's voice drew him out of his daze, and he locked eyes with her for a moment from his position on the kitchen floor before turning back to the electric stove with dawning realization, "Next time just flip the breaker, I don't want you dead on my floor just because you helped me install the new oven."

009\. Starlight  
Whenever he had graveyard shift at NERV, Sub-Commander Aida always had a view of the Milky Way as seen from lunar orbit put up on the Main Display, the bright glow of stars filling the otherwise dimly lit Central Dogma with silver light.

010\. Sacrifice  
Hearing that Touji died in a terrorist attack on Tokyo-3 while protecting Hikari was possibly the worst news he had ever heard, but the pain from that was nothing to the pain he saw haunting Hikari's eyes when he found her in the Recovery Ward in NERV after Misato had given him the news and directed him there.


	2. Honour turned Away

011\. Honour  
Kensuke was always the odd-man-out among his friends, classmates, and coworkers, and it was never more evident since he became an adult than his new habit of wearing one of his wife's handkerchiefs tied loosely around one arm, one Bridge-Tech even comparing it to the knights of Europe wearing the colours of their chosen lady.

012\. Bite  
Hikari was mortified when one of her friends, a NERV technician she knew from her and Kensuke's wedding reception, teasingly mentioned the just visible bite mark that could be seen peeking over Kensuke's uniform collar.

013\. Commit  
This was a day they never thought they'd see; after Touji died Hikari felt for the longest time that she would never find another love, and Kensuke had long resigned himself to bachelorhood, but as they stood side-by-side and said those final lines of a promise and committed themselves to each other, they knew it was the start of their own personal Instrumentality.

014\. Fake  
Kensuke fought back a grin as he held the well-made but obviously fake vase in his hand and turned to look at he and Hikari's twelve-year-old son as the boy stood with a shaky grin before him, "Well, I have to give you kudos for workmanship, but did you really think this was the better idea instead of just owning up to tripping and breaking the vase Shinji sent us from Europe?"

015\. Tender   
Kensuke grinned as he watched Hikari hand their newborn son to Asuka, the redhead showing a tenderness rarely seen as she shot shy glances at Shinji beside her, laying a hand on his wife's shoulder while Shinji smiled softly back at the German woman.

016\. Trouble   
Hitting the jump switch, Kensuke leaned back in the pilot's seat of the freighter-gunship and winced when he heard the light footfalls of his wife move up behind him, "You'd think, after a thousand years, that you'd listen when your wife tells you that something is going to be trouble," she spun the chair and grinned down at him, "I'd ask if you'll listen next time, but we both know you won't."

017\. Final  
Hikari tried and failed to hold back her tears as she watched their great-grandson laying on his hospital bed, old beyond old, while she gripped his hand and Kensuke held her from behind, "We don't hate that you don't age, you know," the man said, his own grandchildren and great-grandchildren around him, "We love you for always being here, for being wisdom we can learn from and shelters we can run to," closing his eyes, a smile on his face, he breathed his last into her mouth as she leaned in and inhaled.

018\. Waiting  
The waiting was the worst, in his opinion, and he watched Hikari calmly knitting while they stayed in the Waiting Room with Asuka and Shinji's oldest while in the Delivery Room Asuka delivered their second child into a bright world.

019\. Awareness  
As the sun rose outside their window awareness returned with it, filling their senses with light and sound, with the smell and feel of each other, and they opened their eyes to see each other smiling along with the dawn.

020\. Turn Away  
"Uncle Ken," the soft call drew Kensuke's eyes up from his paperwork, his gaze landing on a redheaded young woman, and it was like looking into the past, "I'm Mana Ikari, Shinji and Asuka's daughter," he smiled welcomingly, gesturing to a chair in front of his desk before speaking, "Hello Mana," she took the seat, nervous and shifting in it before she looked up, "I need some help, and my parents said if I couldn't talk to them then I could always talk to you or Aunt Hikari-" he interrupted her, smile soft, "I'd never turn away family, Mana."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should explain my use of the word Instrumentality. 
> 
> First, Dictionary:  
> in·stru·men·tal·i·ty  
> /ˌinstrəmənˈtalitē,-men-/  
> noun: instrumentality  
> 1\. the fact or quality of serving as an instrument or means to an end; agency.  
> "a corporate body can act only through the instrumentality of human beings"  
> 2\. a thing that serves as an instrument or means to an end  
> plural noun: instrumentalities
> 
> NGE:  
> In NGE it is [the forced evolution of humanity, termed the "Human Instrumentality Project", in which the souls of all mankind are merged into one.]
> 
> But for me:  
> While Instrumentality is still the NGE definition, it is also the realization of a dream(s) or the achieving of "perfection" through the unity of two or more people. It was reached when Third Impact occurred, but Humanity rejected that false perfection. It is also achieved, as in "013. Commit", through joining with another.  
> Kensuke and Hikari, choosing to love each other and binding themselves to each other, found the "real" Instrumentality of Mankind.


	3. Searching for Destiny

021\. Searching  
Kensuke scrambled, searching through the pockets of his uniform for the illusive ring box, as he spotted Hikari walk into the bridge here in Central Dogma and look around; though she'd visited before to share a lunch when he couldn't leave his paperwork up on the Commander's Loft she'd never really had a reason to be down near the crew stations like now, and spotting him she arched a delicate eyebrow and made straight for him.

022\. Hands of Fate  
Kensuke had always thought that people who used "Fate" as the reason things happened were simply under-educated or looking for an excuse or something to blame, but as he watched Hikari hold their newborn in her tired arms while staring at the little baby with awe in her eyes, he wondered for the first time if maybe there was something more to it after all.

023\. Irresistible  
Hikari couldn't stop the giggle as she watched Kensuke nervously walk out of their bathroom in his new trunks and looking so embarrassed, more than when they'd been children on the beach at Okinawa, and decided as a blush flooded her cheeks that her husband looked almost irresistibly handsome.

024\. Easy  
He thought the planning for everything was easy, as NERV's Sub-Commander planning was what he did, but as he placed the ring on her finger he knew that this was the easiest decision he'd ever made.

025\. Breathing  
When their first child grew old and they remained ageless Hikari started what became tradition for her, when one of their children was on their death-bed she would be by their side if she could, and when they exhaled their last she would take in that breath, accepting -in her mind, and later the minds of the rest of their family- the essence of their life back into herself, silently promising to always remember them.

026\. Stumble  
As he slammed the front door and heard an echoing slam from inside the house that must have been their bedroom door, Kensuke sighed in frustration and regret, he hated fighting with Hikari, all the more because they rarely had real arguments, but they both knew it was the stumbling of new "legs" as they learned to walk together, and what was important was that they got back up and kept walking.

027\. Fighting  
Hikari hated fighting, it never sat right with her despite or because of her aggressive "Class Leader" persona, but as she threw her EVA forward to help her friend fend off the MP-EVAs she thought she knew a little better why Asuka and Touji enjoyed the rush it gave to hit something.

028\. Closing In  
Kensuke didn't think he'd ever been more scared in his entire life to this point as the rumbles reverberated through the shelter and gradually grew louder, the idea of being trapped in the concrete bunker far worse than the time Unit-One's fingers had landed on either side of him and Touji when he had convinced his Jock friend to help him get outside to watch Shinji fight one of the Angels.

029\. Involved  
Hikari felt like her whole body turned red the first time Misato asked her if she was involved with the Sub-Commander, Kensuke Aida, shortly after Shinji returned to them, and it must have been an amusing reaction if the older woman's laughter was anything to go by, though to be fair the way she had asked sounded so full of sexual innuendos she almost couldn't stop her nearly instinctive denial of any inappropriate behavior.

030\. Destiny  
"Do you think this is what we were meant to do?" Kensuke turned at his wife's voice, watching Hikari hold their most recent addition, the little baby boy squirming in her arms as he tried to look around, "A thousand years, Hikari, wandering the planet and now the stars," she watched him as he spoke, seeing the smile on his lips reach his eyes, "I don't believe in destiny, not really, but I'd not change our fate for anything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I originally post this on FF.net, I was asked by a reviewer: "Are they Immortal?".   
> In short, all the Eva Pilots as well as the few people Shinji was close too are immortal. They will not die from age, but are otherwise normal humans. I'll only follow Hikari and Kensuke for that AU in these prompts, obviously, but others might show up.
> 
> Prompt 25. Breathing was the easiest of these, I knew I wanted to expand on the Immortality AU properly introduced in chapter 2, and this was the perfect prompt.


	4. Sweetly Harmless

031\. Sweet  
"That's very sweet of you, Ken," Hikari turned and placed the flowers on the counter, planning to dig out an old vase to put them in later, and turned back to the man at her door and gesturing him in, "Dinner's almost ready, did you bring the movie?" Kensuke stepped in and smiled, holding up -of course- an action film.

032\. Calling  
"NERV got the ping, so Asuka and Touji should be waiting at Terra's Cafe when we get there," at Kensuke's words Hikari stood with their newborn in her arms, calling back into the ship for their older child to get changed, "I'll make sure Mari actually gets dressed, let me know when we get the clearance to land," This would prove to be an adventure, Kensuke knew, as Asuka and Shinji didn't know he and Hikari had another child while they roamed the stars, but it would be a welcome call home.

033\. Nightmare  
Sometimes Hikari would wake up choking on a scream or sobbing, nightmare-twisted memories of the massive terrorist attack on Tokyo-3 clouding her awareness until one of her sisters -and later Kensuke- pulled her close and gently shushed her, calmly reminding Hikari that she was safe, patiently waiting for the crying to calm even as tears of their own fell from their tightly shut eyes.

034\. Flat  
Kensuke could not believe his eyes as he watched Hikari step out of her room and down the hall, the conservative dress was stunning on her in a way that caught his breathe and stilled his heart, and without thinking he voiced the first thought on his mind, "If beautiful was a punch, I'd be knocked flat," which had his cheeks a flaming red as she giggled nearly uncontrollably.

035\. Superstar  
Hikari blinked, listening as she walked up to the door of their apartment as the faint sound of music filtered out, and opening the door she was greeted to the sound of a current popular song playing and nearly drowned out by the enthusiastic calls of her and Kensuke's five-year-old daughter attempting to out-sing the superstar on the radio with a toy microphone in her little hands, their seven-year-old son trying to look put-upon but obviously enjoying it and awaiting his turn if the matching toy mike in his hand was any indication.

036\. Spider Web  
The shriek behind him started what felt like years from his life, and Kensuke whipped around with the flashlight only to find Hikari swatting at a cobweb hanging from one of the rafters in their attic.

037\. Haunted  
Once a year Kensuke would sit on his balcony, a beer in one hand and a sheet of names in the other, and for every dead friend on that piece of paper he would take a drink, savoring the memories each name recalled for a few minutes before saying the next name, always reading the same name last and pouring a single shot of sake to go with it; the haunted look in his eyes from all the names before this one was matched by the haunted look in Hikari's eyes at just this one name, Touji.

038\. Rich  
Though Hikari knew her job at her restaurant and Kensuke's salary at NERV meant a very cushy income, she never thought of them as rich like other people did; money didn't mean much to her like it might have once in her life, not when she could look into the smiling faces of her children and husband and feel that they alone made her the richest woman on Earth.

039\. Everybody  
Having all their friends over for the New Years party was both a massive blessing and stressful, for while they loved all of them neither of them like crowds; the value in the collection of people was in being surrounded by those friends, and not in how many were with them at the same time; they'd have felt happy even if only one person arrived to celebrate with them.

040\. Meant No Harm  
Kensuke kept his derisive comments to himself while Misato negotiated with the Anti-Humanity terrorists on the Main Display, scoffing internally at the claim that they meant no harm, recalling what they'd done years ago in Tokyo-3 that resulted in hundreds of deaths, including Touji's; Misato was the calm rock in their command duo for this, as he wouldn't have given the group holding Tokyo-2's city council hostage anything more than his middle finger and a bullet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 032. Calling ties in with Prompt 035. Doctor over in my Asuka/Touji challenge.
> 
> Just to point out:  
> Whenever the clip implies or points out that they are in the future, any children with them really are the age said or implied. Hikari and Kensuke, despite having watched their children, grandchildren, and so on grow old and die while they live on locked in their thirties, still have children. They believe that the joy of children outweighs the heartache of losing them. They would rather have known them and lost them, than never know them at all.  
> Asuka and Shinji also still have kids, but far rarer than Hikari and Kensuke do, as the loss for them is much more painful in their minds than in the other couple's.


	5. Apple of Eternity

041\. Apple  
Kensuke cut the apple into neat slices, setting them on a pair of small plates to hand to their two kids while they worked on homework, glancing over his shoulder at Hikari while she hummed and continued to prepare dinner, smiling to himself as he recognized the song from their favorite movie.

042\. Darling  
Hikari couldn't decide if she should giggle or not, reading the short clumsy poem over again, and smiling softly at Kensuke's signature near the bottom, touched by this new habit he had of leaving short notes, quotes, and the rare rhyme around her kitchen before he left for his shift at NERV every day.

043\. Name  
Names where important things, they connected you to your parents first, and later to others as they learned your name and you learned theirs, connecting you to your past and claiming your future; so when Hikari asked if they could name their most recent daughter after Touji's now centuries dead sister, Kensuke found he couldn't say no.

044\. By My Side  
Through their travels and misadventures, from the end of the Angel War to the present, Hikari was always glad for Kensuke's near constant presence by her side, consistently offering his time and energy.

045\. Mountains  
The mountains around Tokyo-3 were beautiful in the fall, the mix of colors eye-catching to anyone who traveled the slopes and terraces, but Hikari's favorite place was next to an ancient oak that overlooked the city and faced the setting sun with the mountain behind them.

046\. Writer's Choice "New Year"  
For a long time New Years was a painful thing to think about, lacking any celebration for either Kensuke or Hikari, always reminding them that one of their trio was no longer able to enjoy it with them, but in recent years they'd found a newer point of view, looking at the new year as another chance to live fully and remember fondly the good they had in the times gone by.

047\. Writer's Choice "Library"  
Hikari had to laugh when she finally found Kensuke asleep at a desk in the College Library, the young man's glasses at a roguish angle on his face with his left ear planted firmly in the pages of a text book like he could hear it whispering to him in his sleep, and fondly recalled other occasions where she'd found her two friends dozing during study group back in high school.

048\. Writer's Choice "Angel"  
Kensuke wondered if this was what real angels looked like, staring in awe as Hikari walked down the aisle in her shimmering white wedding dress, her train spread out behind her, held by her two sisters and looking for all the world like folded wings following her.

049\. Writer's Choice "Falling"  
In the dream Hikari felt like she was falling, but not the terrifying fall with pain at the end, an exhilarating rush filling her as the sensation of falling caused her heart to skip, and she could feel someone falling with her, drifting close to her and wrapping her in strong arms; she called out his name excitedly, knowing who it was even without the flash of glasses in the corner of her vision, and thought she heard an echoing call back that filled her so full of joy she thought she would burst.

050\. Writer's Choice "Eternity"  
They watched as Earth's night-side lit up with a billion sparkling city lights, a shimmering diamond hung in the vastness of space, recalling nights spent on a mountainside watching a fortress city transition from skeletal outline to glowing jewel below them, time feeling like it came to a stop and stretching out before them, and together they waited for the next second to hit and time to once again carry them into the eternity before them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next will be the second set of 50 for Hikari/Kensuke ^.^
> 
> When I first had the idea - while writing for the Asuka/Touji 50 - I never realized I would fall for the Hikari/Kensuke pairing. I hope you enjoy them.


	6. First Kiss with a Stranger

001\. First Kiss  
Hikari was never sure that Kensuke could remember when they first met in primary school at ten-years-old, and on some level she supposed she didn't want him to, the memory was embarrassing but sweet, and she recalled it not long after she kissed him at the end of their third date; she'd been shy and scared, not knowing anyone at the school, and Kensuke -bookish then instead of an Otaku- had held her hand and lead her around the whole day, ending with an innocent kiss before dashing off to his waiting parents.

002\. Final  
Exams had been stressful, all the more for the pointed and painful lack of Touji and the need to prod him into studying, and on some level finding out Kensuke had aced the finals was bittersweet, because she knew her only remaining childhood friend would be leaving for NERV Officer School in a couple of weeks and she didn't know if she'd be able to see him after that, but she was proud of him as well knowing he was pursuing his dreams.

003\. Numb  
Kensuke felt so numb after hearing Touji had died, mind frozen in a painful circle of denial and acceptance, and while he was glad he found Hikari in her recovery room with only minor burns, scraps and bruises, when he stepped up to her and she grabbed him into a hug like he was going to disappear at any moment he broke, tears pouring from his eyes to match her own, and they held each other like the world was ending.

004\. Broken Wings  
For a while Kensuke had been worried Hikari was just going through the motions, finishing college and working in a cafe like she'd wanted, but he'd know her long enough to know she was hurting, and it hurt that he could think of nothing he could do to help her, forced to watch her struggle with her broken wings and only able to offer his presence once he returned from Officer School and was stationed at NERV Tokyo-3.

005\. Melody  
Kensuke sat at the table with his coffee, silently enjoying the sound of Hikari's voice as she waddled around the kitchen six-months pregnant, alternately humming and singing a happy tune they'd heard on the radio when they'd left her check-up last week, the woman unaware of her captive audience.

006\. Rules  
His military training, even if it wasn't technically considered true military being that NERV was considered a PMC, had instilled the importance of rules and following them, but for Hikari he'd always made an exception, allowing his friend to use Touji's Pilot Access to enter the base to visit him or the Cages to stare at Unit-Three, and the revelation she'd brought one evening when she'd visited Unit-One instead had given them the final piece to retrieving Shinji and made the risk worth it.

007\. Chocolate  
Kensuke stared at the box of chocolates, blinking in a moment of confusion before snapping out of it and taking them from Hikari's outstretched hands, smiling at her as she took the seat across from him while he sat in a booth at her cafe, a mix of surprise and happiness at a gesture they hadn't exchanged in decades.

008\. Nostalgia  
Kensuke didn't drink anymore and Hikari didn't cry, time having turned once painful memories of their lost friend to moments of shared nostalgia, content to sit beside each other at the Over-Look under an ancient oak tree and reminisce.

009\. Heartbeat  
Hikari felt dampness on her cheeks, the sense of awe and wonder mixing with a joy so powerful that it poured out in her smile and tears, as she and Kensuke listened to the fast little heartbeat picked up by the ultrasound and watched as the first imagines of their child appeared on the screen beside them, the doctor smiling with them as he asked if they wanted the gender to be a surprise.

010\. Stranger  
Walking through NERV for the first time in centuries, Kensuke couldn't calm the knot in his chest as he encountered new faces around every corner, and looking over the renovated Central Dogma from what had been his desk lifetimes ago he finally let out a shuddering breath as he sat in the Commander's chair and put his face in his hands, remembering again the reason he rarely came here, hating the feeling of being a stranger in what had once been his own home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PMC stands for Private Military Contractor/Corporation, basically civilian agencies that provided well-trained armed personnel for escort and site defense among other services. Search it for more/better info.  
> The Over-Look is the same spot on the side of a hill/mountain overlooking Tokyo-3 that I've mentioned time and again, an oak tree slightly off to the side and the road behind with an area just large enough for a pair of cars to park and a guard rail at the edge.


	7. Confusing Tomorrows

011\. Confusion  
Kensuke looked at the boy standing protectively between him and the school-yard bullies who had been harassing him, confused as to why the bigger boy would be helping him until he yelled at the others, "Ya betteh leave my friend alone, or I'll tell duh class-rep," which sent the two others from their class scurrying off before he turned around and Kensuke recognized him as Touji, "Hikari's my friend too, Glasses, so I gotta keep yuz safe too."

012\. Bitter  
He was not bitter, not a bit, that Hikari was spending more time with their friend Touji instead of him; they're in middle school, he had nothing to be bitter about, and he totally understood how cool the other boy was -after all they were all three best friends- especially compared to him, when all he did was read military history and help Hikari get Touji to study, and Touji was into sports and stuff.

013\. Afterlife  
"Will I see you there?" the old woman on the bed whispered, lids closed over sightless grey eyes, as Hikari held a wrinkled hand in her own smooth ones, tears pouring from her eyes as she answered, "Of course you will, we'll be right behind you; we just have to make sure everyone else gets there too, just like when we would visit Asuka and Shinji," the old woman sighed, relieved, and smiled through her last words, "Okay, mama; don't take too long."

014\. Daybreak  
Since joining NERV Kensuke always rose before the sun, so it was a wonderful surprise one morning when Hikari woke up at her normal time to prepare for the day and found Kensuke still asleep beside her, his first morning off since they'd married, and she watched him sleep as the morning sun washed over Tokyo-3.

015\. Audience  
Ever since the night Asuka had used her AT-Field to share a memory with her, Hikari had become acutely aware of when people she cared about were close-by, and used this to her advantage whenever Kensuke was around; she knew he enjoyed hearing her voice, so when she felt him approaching one morning when she had let herself inside his apartment to make him breakfast for his birthday after they'd been dating for a year, she started humming a song, enjoying having him for a captive audience while she cooked.

016\. Endless Sorrow  
Hikari laid in bed, the hospital sheets itchy against her skin but ignored, feeling like she was drowning as the scene of Touji running to her and being swallowed by a ball of fire kept playing over and over in her mind as tears continued to flow from her eyes, and when Kensuke entered the room, his empty eye's filling with relief at seeing her, she grabbed him with all the strength she could gather when he was in reach and cried unashamedly into his shoulder, feeling like the sorrow would never end.

017\. Fireworks  
"Mama, Papa, fireworks!" the five-year-old girl cheered as the first flashes filled the sky and were soon followed by the boom and crackle of each spread of twinkling fire, and Hikari shared a smile with Kensuke as he held their daughter on his shoulders and she held the hand of their two-year-old, the little boy watching with wide-open eyes glinting in wonder.

018\. Wishing  
When they were younger, still in middle school but preparing to move up to junior-high, the three of them made a promise and wished on a star to always be friends and to stay in touch no matter what; years later, after befriending Shinji and later Asuka, after living through the Angel Wars, Hikari recalled the promise they'd made during Touji's funeral and broke down, crying hard into Kensuke's shoulder and sobbing out the wish they'd made, and hearing her words slammed into Kensuke and pulled tears from his eyes to match the river flowing from hers.

019\. Happy Birthday to You  
They had long out-grown celebrating their own birthdays, the accomplishment of surviving Post-Impact wore off when living for centuries, but they always made sure to surprise their children with a party and a few gifts, ending the day with a cake Hikari had made in their kitchen.

020\. Tomorrow  
Hikari looked at three -no four, she could barely see them- faint white lines across her left wrist, remembering the years following Touji's death and all the nights she cried herself to sleep or spent in front of a mirror, often with something sharp in her right hand, but also remembering one night when she'd woken from a nightmare and forgotten Kensuke was spending the night after a long study session for a test coming up before the end of their junior year in college, and was never more glad than now for him hearing her sobs and coming in to hold her until the sun rose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 016. "Endless Sorrow" was a hard one, as I'd done a few dealing with how the pair handled losing Touji, but then I realizd I hadn't done one from Hikari's perspective of the Hospital Scene.
> 
> Prompt 018. "Wishing" was another hard one because I knew I wanted to have them share a promise, but wasn't sure how to go about it. Then I thought of "wishing on a star", and it flowed from there.
> 
> Prompt 020. "Tomorrow" was difficult not because I didn't know what to write, but because of what I was writing about. Suicide is a terrifying topic to me because of how much I value the life of the people I know and love.
> 
> This prompt occurs after the end of chapter four of my story "Returned", as Hikari is preparing for another date with Kensuke.
> 
> Sorry for all the Angst/Tragedy in this one, though I know there was plenty in the last set of fifty. I hope it was bittersweet, and worth reading, especially 020. "Tomorrow". I want anyone who reads it to know that, just like Hikari, there is always a brighter tomorrow waiting if you hold on and reach out to people around you. If you're the one being reached out towards, then reach back and hold tight, and don't ever let go. We aren't meant to handle the world alone, it isn't weakness, so don't let yourself or others be alone. To paraphrase Prompt 003. "Sanctuary" from the Asuka/Touji series, "...needing [help]...is about wisdom and not weakness".


	8. Oppression Underneath

021\. Oppression  
The years following Touji's death held Hikari in an oppressive cycle of depression and self-blame, interspersed with soul wounding sorrow, and she sometimes wondered even years later how she had ever managed to climb out of those dark day, but a glance at Kensuke reminded her she hadn't so much climbed as she was pulled out.

022\. Agony  
Agony always thrummed through him when he watched Hikari accept their children's last breath, the pain fresh each time a beloved child died before them no matter the reason, and each time he buried it while comforting her, waiting until they were home before allowing his own sorrow to overcome him and let Hikari be the one to provide comfort.

023\. Return  
Kensuke shared a brilliant, tear-filled smile with Hikari as they watched Asuka greet the newly returned Shinji, both of them having missed the other Pilot almost as much as the redhead had, and feeling like the world really was right once more.

024\. Protection  
Hikari was mortified at the item sitting in the bottom of the box Asuka had given her for her bridal shower, staring at her grinning friend with her jaw on the floor, before her shocked expression shifted to angry and she leapt across the room screaming how indecent it was.

025\. Boxes  
The number of boxes astounded Kensuke as he and Hikari sorted through them on the living-room floor of their new house, but he dared not point out how many of them were full of his wife's things, knowing he really shouldn't be surprised; Hikari was a woman moving into her first real house with her husband, of course she would have brought all the things she'd have wanted or thought she needed for what was a massive milestone in both their lives.

026\. Hope  
Hikari knew that sometimes having hope hurt, she'd watched Asuka enough before Shinji's return to know, but even centuries later -after watching so many of their children die- Hikari found that hope was the first and brightest feeling to flare in her heart as she shared a smile with Kensuke when she told him she was pregnant.

027\. Preparation  
"I hate these things," Hikari looked up from her 'comfy chair' sitting in the corner under the sun-filled bay window in their living-room at Kensuke's vehemently whispered comment, watching him studiously ignoring both her and the small instruction booklet beside his knees as he worked to assemble the infant crib, giggling as she said, "I told you to use the instructions."

028\. Beautiful  
They say "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", and every time Kensuke looked at his wife, every time he looked at their children, no matter how many years -and then centuries- passed them by, he saw the same thought in their eyes echoing back: I love you, and you're beautiful.

029\. Lies  
"You don't mind it that I'm spending time with Touji-kun, do you Ken-chan?" Kensuke fought to keep his expression controlled and neutral, something he was good at from dealing with bullies before Touji became his friend last year, and managed a convincing smile for his best female friend, "Of course not 'Kari-chan, you know I enjoy a little time to myself for reading too."

030\. Underneath  
While it often bothered Hikari to see other react to her immortality, Kensuke always got a small amount of amusement from watching people look him in the eye and sense just how old he was underneath the appearance of a thirty-something year old man, even -or especially- when they already knew he was one of the Immortals that survived Third Impact along with the Pilots, seeing the twitch or jump of realization and jerking back from him when he laughed off whatever comment they tried to make on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 021. "Oppression" was very difficult for me to figure out, I was at a lost as to what to write for it concerning Kensuke and Hikari, then I looked at the dictionary definition.
> 
> Prompt 029. "Lies" ties in with Prompt 012. "Bitter", again looking into their life pre-series. Yes, prompt 012 was not written in satire, but Kensuke's serious point-of-view at the time.
> 
> Prompt 030. "Underneath" was an odd one to write. I knew -after a fashion- what was going to be written down, but the feel of it seems darker than I think Kensuke is or would be even after centuries alive. Then I remembered that everyone has dark times, moments -or months- where they find themselves rolling in darker emotions, like it's a soothing balm even as it burns them, until someone reaches out and takes hold of them. Which Hikari does for Kensuke. [This prompt kind of ties in with Prompt 010. "Stranger".]


	9. Hidden Foolishness

031\. Hide  
Kensuke buried his emotions again, not even bothering to sort them out, as he watched Touji continue to be completely oblivious to Hikari's advances, their friend offering in a round-about fashion to bring him a lunch the next day, and wished for a moment that he was more outgoing and less willing to hide in the background and watch his best friends dance around each other.

032\. Diary  
Hikari closed her notebook, the ink dry after she'd spent several minutes reading what was in the most recent entry over again, and set it in the drawer of her desk in her and Kensuke's home office, the two of them preferring to do paperwork at home whenever possible, and repeated in her mind the last line in her diary: I can't wait to tell him, I'm still buzzing with excitement; our first child!

033\. Unforeseen  
Sitting in the cafe with Asuka and Touji both Hikari and Kensuke stare at their friends in shock for a moment before congratulating them wholeheartedly, happy for them and with them over Asuka's pregnancy.

034\. Conditional  
In the centuries they'd lived the two of them had developed a set of unspoken behaviors and habits when dealing with people who didn't know or realize they were the Hikari and Kensuke Horaki from the Angel War of 2015, the first being not to bring it up but to honestly answer if they were asked; trust, after all, was conditional.

035\. Gone  
NERV-Terra had failed; despite all the lessons learned and brilliant personnel the organization had, nothing could stop mankind from finding some way to start a fight, and this time it burned across the surface of the planet, pulling tears in what felt like unending streams from Ken and Hikari's eyes as they watched from high orbit with the other fleeing NERV and civilian ships.

036\. Clear Skies  
They knew it was where Tokyo-3 once stood only because of the geo-stationary satellite above them, the Geofront -torn open centuries ago by the SEELE attack on HQ- now a circular lake hiding the rebuilt city in its depths and the terrain now returned to young, healthy forests, with clear blue skies dotted by clouds; it would be here, Kensuke had told her, that Humanity would start from when they returned to their homeworld.

037\. Heartache  
Sakura watched her parents flip through an old album, so old it was an actual book with real pictures and not a tablet with holograms, and even from her place around the corner several feet away she could feel the heartache as they paused on certain pages, and she knew they were looking at images of their long lost friend.

038\. Wired  
Kensuke blinked as he took in the sight of Hikari trying to corral their four-year-old, the little girl hyped up on sugar after visiting Hikari's older sister, and bemusedly realized Kodama must have done it on purpose just for the laughs Kensuke knew they'd share the next time they visited.

039\. Insanity  
This wasn't happening, this was the thought that raced through Hikari's mind as she Piloted her Unit-Zero while watching Kensuke and Touji in their Units-Two and One struggling with the out of control Unit-Three that held Asuka inside, the whole situation completely outside her ability to believe.

040\. Foolishness  
Kensuke watched Hikari verbally lash out at Major Misato, the older woman struggling to contain her own anger as she winced at the venom in his friend's voice, the whole situation with Asuka and Unit-Three putting everyone on edge, and the revelation that Commander Kozo had known it would go rogue made it worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 34 "Conditional" took forever to figure out, but once it was done the rest came relatively easily. 
> 
> Prompts 35 and 36 are connected, with 36 referencing "Returned" and how T-3 was rebuilt inside the exposed Geofront. 
> 
> Prompt 39 and 40 also took a bit to get down, both of them dealing with an AU where the Trio are Pilots while Shinji and Asuka are the "normal" kids that they befriend.


	10. Words to Live-By

041\. Words  
When their first child spoke his first words, Hikari felt like she had never been more excited, in fact she had been so excited she had called Kensuke in the middle of his morning briefing with Commander Katsuragi, and her husband had been equally excited, announcing to the amusement of everyone in the meeting -either in person or over video conference- and earning a round of congratulations.

042\. Study  
Studying without the constant complaining of Touji was jarring the first semester in college, pulling tears from Hikari's eyes and leaving Kensuke staring into the distance, and while the hurt never left they redoubled their effort to excel knowing Touji would have even as he complained.

043\. Punctual  
Kensuke never thought the ever punctual Hikari could manage to be late to anything until he went to pick her up for their One Year Anniversary date and she made them nearly fifteen minutes late for dinner, but how she looked when she stepped into the room and how she effortlessly drew the eyes of everyone twenty minutes later when the waiter seated them was worth every second.

044\. Piggybank  
"How much do I has?" Kensuke blinked at the bright pink piggybank he suddenly found shoved before his face, looking passed it to his four year old daughter and into her big chocolate puppy eyes, and knew he'd be making a trip to the store regardless of what she had saved up.

045\. Shooting Star  
Hearing their children giggle and squeal at every shooting star that raced across the sky brought smiles to Hikari and Kensuke's faces, the happiness over-shadowing the bitter-sweet memory of a promise made on a shooting star years ago.

046\. Writer's Choice "Story"  
Story time was always fun, even when their children became old enough to understand the Angel Wars, and Kensuke always made sure he was home from NERV in time to put them to bed and tell them at least one story.

047\. Writer's Choice "First Step"  
As Hikari looked back through her life, in her mind or as she turned pages of her many photo albums, she always had the clearest memories of the many first steps of her life, from her first date with Touji to their first 'I love you', from the first time she confided in Kensuke to the first time she kissed him, from her first birth to their child's first words, every first shone bright and clear in her memory.

048\. Writer's Choice "Breathe Deep"  
Everyone experienced their own world in Instrumentality, but few could recall the sense of falling and loneliness that came with escaping those false worlds, and the need to breathe deeply as they surfaced near the beach, swimming and clawing their way out of the dreams and back into reality.

049\. Writer's Choice "Time"  
A thousand years they'd wandered, exploring creation with each other and raising children out among the stars, but as they felt the clock ticking in their very souls they sent a final 'goodbye' and 'I love you' to their friends and children, and flew their ship beyond the rim to explore that final adventure.

050\. Writer's Choice "Life"  
Hikari opened heavy eyes, the bright golden light blinding her for a moment as she sat up, and as she looked around she found her husband beside her and their children -all of them, every one they'd had over the centuries- surrounding them with tear-filled smiles and she knew every heartache in life was worth this beautiful sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've enjoy this set of 100 prompts, and be sure to read the rest in the series.
> 
> I'll be adding my RWBY prompt story as well, thirty prompts focused on Weiss and Jaune. A lot of it is actually used as backstory for the pair in My and Zephyrus Genesis' "Time Loop" story Fruit Loops. [not connected to Innortal's "Infinite Loops" setting] Which is still currently "under construction".
> 
> If you want to read more of my writing, check me out - same pen-name - over on fanfiction[dot]net. I'm really only posting completed works here.


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